Carton construction



, April '18,1939. J. P. sHEARER y CARTON CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed April 10, 1936 INVENTOR. carer is ATTORNEYS' April 18, 1939- J.\P. SHEARER l 2,154,475

CARTON 'CONSTRUCTION BY Wag ATTORNEYS Patented Apr. 18, 1.939v l UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,154,475 oAnToN CONSTRUCTION John P. Shearer, Newark, N. Y., assignor to Bloomer Bros. Company, Newark, N. Y., a corporation of NewYork I Application April 1o, 1936, serial No. 73,705v 11 claims. (OI. 229-51) This invention relates to cartons made of paper both figures of the drawings, the panel II is or fiber b oard, and particularly to cartons'of the shownfolded down over the panel I2, in the potype adapted to be pulled or torn apart in order sition assumed by these parts during the final to obtain free access to all sides of the contents. 'steps in the manufacture ofthe carton.

Such cartons are particularly useful in packing The adhesive for connecting the flap I5 to the 5 ice cream, for example, as the tearing apart of panel II may be initially applied to one or the the carton permits the ice cream to be removed other of these Overlapping parts (preferably to as a solid block orbrick, instead of having to dig the part I5 along a zone indicated diagrammatit out bit by bit from a carton open at only one ically at I6, this adhesive zone being relatively l0 side. close to and substantially parallel to the edge I'I 10 An Object of the invention is the provision of of the flap I5. The adhesive may be applied in a generally improved and more satisfactory cara solid strip throughout this zone, Or in a diston of the tear-apart type. continuous or irregular strip, or in any other de- Another object is the provision of a tear-apart sired form. The joint formed by the overlapping 1 carton with a pulling tab so placed asv to reduce members II and I5 and the adhesive I 6 is ar- 15,

the possibility of tearing the carton in an underanged to be broken or torn apart when desired, sired manner. v so that the carton may be opened up flat (after A further object is the provision of improved the end flaps are Opened) to obtain free access to l `carton closure flaps so designed as to facilitate the contents. the. rapid assembly ofmthe aps into closed relav ,Paper or ber board, such as is used in the tionship. 'l l manufacture of such cartons, has a perceptible To these and other ends the invention resides grain in one direction, and has appreciably greatin certain improvements and combinations of er-compressive strength in a direction along the parts, all as will be hereinafter more fully degrain than in a direction transverse thereto. It

l scribed, the novel features being pointed out in4 is preferred to cut the carton blank so that the 25 4the claims at the'end of the specification. grain runs in a direction around the carton rather In the drawings: than in a direction lengthwise thereof, since this Fig. 1 is a view of a carton constructed in acgives a somewhat stronger carton. But this has cordance with a preferred embodiment of the inone disadvantage, because the fibrous material vention, illustrating it at a preliminary stage of tears more readily in the direction of the grain 30 its manufacture; than in a direction across the grain. Hence, if Fig. 2 is a View of the same carton in its comthe grain runs around the carton, or in a. direcpleted knocked-down form; tion substantially perpendicular to the edge I1 Fig. 3 is a view of one end of the carton in and adhesive zone I6, it follows that if force is erected position, showing the closure aps in the applied to any point of the edge I1, in a direction 35 act of being closed; perpendicular to this edge, in order to tear the Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1l illustrating a joint apart, such force is particularly liable to modied form of construction; tear the material of the flap I5 in a direction Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 2 illustrating the along the grain.

same modified form of' construction; and l To avoid such tearing, the present invention 0 l Fig. 6 is a section taken substantially on the provides a tab on the flap I5 which may be coniine 6 6 of Fig 5. veniently grasped to exert the necessary force, and The same reference numerals throughout tlie this tab is separated from the rest of the flap by several views indicate the same parts. a crease or score line which extends in a direcp The exact shape, size, or form of the main body tion oblique to the edge I `I'and adhesive zone I6,

portion of the carton is immaterial so far as thev and oblique to the direction of the grain of the present invention is concerned. The carton may fibrous material. With such an arrangement, be made, for example, of a single integral piece when the tab is grasped and pulled upwardly, the

o1' paper or fiber board cut and scored to provide tab will initially bend along the score line relal` panels II, I2, I 3, and I4, to form the four sides tively to the rest of the ap I5, and then the force 50 oi' a carton of lrectangular cross-section when exerted by 'a continued pull on the tab will be an erected, anda ap I5 to Overlap the panel II and oblique force, gradually lifting the ap I5 from to be adhesively secured thereto to hold the carthe panel II 4and breaking the adhesive bond ton together. Suitable end flaps may also be withoutl causing tears to start from the edge I1 6 5 provided for closing the ends of the carton. In of the ap I 5.

Preferably, but not necessarily, the pulling tab is placed at or near one end of the adhesive zone it; that is, at one corner of the flap l5. Somewhat better results are obtained from this position of the tab. A tab in this preferred position is indicated at 2li, and the oblique crease or score line is shown at 2 I. It is seen that when the tab 2t is pulled upwardly, it will tear the flap I5 away from the panel II in an oblique direction or along a somewhat oblique adhesive breaking line, gradually progressing from the tab 2U to the opposite end of the adhesive Zone I6, and avoiding all accidental tearing of the material.

At times it may be desired to reduce the adhesive bond between the parts II and I5, to make the tearing open of the carton somewhat easier. For this purpose, a coating 22 of paraiine or other suitable material may be applied to the panel II through all or part of the zone to be occupied by the adhesive I6, This lessens the bond between the adhesive and the panel Il, not only making the carton easier to open, but also insuring that the adhesive will pull away from the panel I I rather than from the llap I5, so that surface tearing of the fibers of the sheet' material does not occur on the ap I5, but occurs only on the panel Il, where such surface tearing is of limited extent, being stopped after a short dis-- tance by the extreme edge of the panel II.

Another feature of the invention relates to improvements in the closure flaps for closing the ends of the carton. When the carton has been completed in its knocked-down form shown in Fig. 2, opposite edges of the carton may be pressed to erect it from fiat form into a rectang'ular cross-section.- Then suitable flaps 31I, 32, 33, and 34, attached respectively to the carton sides Il, I2, I3, and Id, may be closed, after placing the desired contents within the carton. The flaps at one end of the'carton may be identical with those at the other end thereof, so that only one set of closure flaps need be described in detail.

The flap 32 may be a relatively large rectangular ap of a size to cover the full area of the end of the box, and may be folded down first, after which the narrow flap 34 may be folded down to cover the edge of the flap 32 which is opposite to the hinge connection of the flap 32 to the panel I2. Then the flaps 3| and 33 are folded down and interlockedwith each other to hold the flaps in closed position.

The flap' 3I is provided with a generally L^ shaped slit including a long arm 36 preferably positioned approximately parallel to the: hinge connection of the flap 3l to the panel II, and further including a short arm 3l approximately at right-angles to the arm 33 of thev slit, as plainly shown in the drawings. According to the present invention, a score line 38is provided, extending from one end of the L-shaped slit to the' adjacent side edge ofthe flap 3|. Preferably this score line 38 extends from the end of the short arm 31 of the slit to the adjacent edge of the flap, and preferably also the direction of the score line 38 is approximately a continuation of a straight line drawn through the extreme ends of the slit 36, 3l. The score line 33 may be described as offset from that end of the long arm 36 of the slit which is adjacent to the score line.

With this construction, the interlocking of the flaps 3| and 33 with each other is greatly facilitated, because the outer corner of the ilap 3|, beyond the score line 38, may readily be bent down relatively to the main body of the flap, the

.trally of the edge I1 of the iiap by the score line 2|a which is ais/rare the result that the slit is opened up wide in the manner indicated in Fig. 3, so that the hooked end or tab on the flap 33 may be inserted through the' opened-up slit with great ease. The downward pressure on the corner of theviiap 3I also bends the flap material approximately along the dotted line fill, at the opposite end of the slit from the score line 38, and approximately in a continuation of the direction of the score line. It is preferable not to provide a score line at 40, however, because the provision of the score line 38 alone permits the flap to bend sufciently, and yet leaves the flap stiff enough to maintain its normal shape properly after the flaps are closed and interlocked. lf the flap were further weakened by a score line at the point 40, there is danger that it lwould be too weak and would accidentally open up enough to permit withdrawal of the flap 33 from the slit at a time when the closure flaps should remain closed. Hence the use of the score line 38 at only one end of the slit is preferred, and is found to work remarkably well in actual practice and to facilitate greatly the quick and easy insertion of the end of the flap 33 in the slit of the flap 3I.

Although the location of the tab 20 and score line il as above described in connection with Figs. l and 2 is the preferred location, yet this tab and score line may be placed in other locations, if preferred. For example, they may be located as plainly shown in Figs.` 4 and 5, in which the tab 20a is located approximately cen- I5, and is separated therefrom approximately in alinement with the extreme edge I1 of the flap I5, as shown. The tab 2lla'is materially shorter than the flap I5 and occupies materially less than the full length of the edge I1 of the flap, as shown. All of the other parts of 'the construction in this modified form of the invention may be the same as those previously described in connection with Figs. l to 3, inclusive, and they are indicated in Figs. 4 to 6 by the same reference numerals used for the corresponding parts in Figs. 1 to 3.

`The score line 2Ia permits the tab 20a to be bent u p easily so that it may be grasped readily in the position shown in Fig. 6. Furthermore, since the score line 2Ia permits the flap to bend with little resistance along this score line, the natural tendency of one grasping the tab 20a is to pull this tab upwardly until it is approximately perpendicular to the planes of the iiap I5 and the panel Il. Then a continued pull on the tab in an upward direction pulls upwardly on Athe front edge of the ap i5 and pulls the adhesive I6 on this ap off vfrom the panel Il, breaking the joint in an easy manner without surface tearing of the flap I5 and without tearing inwardly through the body of the' flap I5, even when the grain of the board runs around the box or perpendicular to the edge I'I. If this score line 2Ia were not provided, the natural and the pull Y been disclosed, it is to be understood that the inventive idea may be carried -out in a number of Ways. This application is, therefore, not to be limited to the precise details described, but

' and projecting beyond is intended to cover all variations and modifications thereof fallin'g within the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A carton comprising fibrous sheet material cut and folded to form a substantially rectangular body, said material including two layers forming an overlapping joint running along said rectangular lbody adjacent one edge thereof, adhesive connecting said overlapping layers to each other and having a main axis approximately parallel to the major portion of one free edge of the outer one of said two layers, and a projecting portion on the outer one of said two layers forming a tab located substantially at one end of said overlapping joint said major portion of said free edge in a general direction transverse to said main axis of said adhesive and adapted to be grasped and pulled to separate said outer layer from the inner layer and break the adhesive connection between them.

2. A carton comprising two layers of brous sheet 'material having edges overlapped with and adhesively secured to eachother, an accessible tab portion on one of said layers to be grasped and pulled for separating said two layers from each other, and a score line separating said tab portion from the remaining portion of said one' of said layers, said score line being arranged obliquely to the direction of said overlapped edges of said layers.

3. A carton comprising an inner layer of brous sheet material, an outer layer of fibrous sheet material overlapped with said inner layer andl terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting said.

two layers to each other along a zone close to and approximately parallel to said edge, said outer layer having atone point an extension forming a tab projecting. substantially beyond said adhesive zone to a position in which it may be readily grasped and pulled to separate said two layers from each other, and a crease separating said tab from the remainder of said outer layer, said crease extending inwardly from said edge at an oblique angle thereto.

` 4. A carton comprising an inner layer of fibrous sheet material, an outer layer of brous'sheet material overlapped with said inner layer and terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting said two layers to each other along a zone close to and approximately parallel to said edge, said outer layer having an extension projecting substantially l' beyond said adhesive zone approximately at one end thereof to form a tab which may be readily grasped and pulled to separate said two layers from each other, and a score line demarking said tab from th'e remainder of said outer layer.

5. A carton comprising an inner layer of fibrous sheet material, an outer layer of brous sheet material overlapped with said inner layer and terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting said two layers to each other along a zone close to and approximately parallel to said edge, said outerv layer having an extension projecting beyond said adhesive zone approximately at ont` end thereof to form a tab which may be readily grasped and pulled to separate said two layers from each other, and a score line demarking said tab from vthe remainder of said outer layer, said score line extending obliquely relatively to said edge and said adhesive zone. p

6. A carton comprising an inner layer of brous sheet material, an outer layer of'brous sheet material having one end overlapped with said inner layer and adhesively connected thereto,

direction transverse to an extension on said outer layer forming a tab substantially at a corner of said outer layer adjacent said adhesive connection, and an oblique score line separating said tab from the remainder of said outer layer, so that force exerted on said tab to separate said two layers from each other will tend to be exerted somewhat along said end of said outer layer instead of wholly transverse to said end.

, 7. A carton comprising an inner layer of fibrous sheet material, an outer layer of brous sheet material overlapped with said innerlayer and terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting said ,two layers to each other along a zone close to and approximately parallel to said edge, both of said layers having a grain running in a direction transverse to said adhesive zone, said outer layer having an extension projecting substantially beyond said' adhesive zone to form a tab which may be readily grasped and pulled to separate said two layers from each other, and a score line extending obliquely to said grain and to said adhesive zone and demarking said tab at least partially from the remainder of said outer layer.

8. A carton comprising an inner layer of brous sheet material. an louter layer of fibrous sheet material overlapped with said inner `layer and terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting said two layers to each other along a zone close to and approximately parallel to said edge, both of said layers having a grain running in a direction transverse to said adhesive zone, said outer layer havl ing an extension projecting substantially beyond said adhesive zone .substantially at a corner of said second layer and at one end of said adhesive zone, to form a tab which may be readily grasped and pulled to separate said two layers from each other, and a score line extending obliquely to said grain and to said adhesive zone and demarking said tab at least partially from the remainder o1' said outer layer.

9. A carton comprising fibrous sheet material cut and folded to form a substantially rectangular body, said material including two layers forming an overlapping joint running along said rectangular body adjacent one edge thereof, adhesive connecting said overlapping edges to each other, a projecting portion on the outer one of said two layers forming a tab adjacent said overlapping joint and adapted to be grasped and pulled .to separate said outer layer from the inner layer to break the adhesive connection between them, said projecting portion extending along materially less than the full length of said one of said two layers, and a score line separating said projecting tab portion from the remaining portion of the outer one of said two layers. v

10. A carton comprising an inner layer of brous sheet material, an outer layer of brous sheet material overlapped with said inner layer and terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting said two layers to reach other along a zone close to and approximately parallel to said edge, both of said layers having a grain running in a said adhesive Zone, said outer layer having an extension projecting substantially beyond said adhesive zone opposite a minor portion only of the length of said adhesive zone, to form a tab which vmay be readily grasped and pulled to separate said two layers from each other, and a score line extending transversely to said grain of said layers and demarking said tab at least partially from the remainder of said outer layer.

ll. A carton comprising an inner layer of nbrous sheet material, an outer layer of brous which may be readily grasped and pulled to sepasheet material overlapped with said inner layer rate said two layersfrom each other, said tale and terminating at an edge, adhesive connecting having a length along said edge materially less said two layers to each other along a zone close to than the length of said edge, and a. score line and approximately parallel to said edge, said outer demarking said tab from the remainder'of said layer having an extension projecting substantially, outer layer, said score line beine located approxibeyond said adhesive zone approximately cenma'elyn alnement With Said edge.

trally of the length of said edge to form a tab JOHN R, 

